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The song is driven by drum machines, electronic keyboards and a guitar, and Morissette's brothers Chad and Wade provided some of the backing vocals. In the chorus the song's protagonist tells a boy aspiring towards a goal that he's "Always too hot" and "never too cold", adding that his "best shot" is "too hot to hold"; with this in mind, she urges him to "go for gold". The fifth chorus is sung almost a cappella. Morissette performs the first part of each verse as a rap, with lyrics describing the consequences of her "baby" achieving his goal. After the first chorus a man's voice says "I know you gonna dig this ... Ch-check this out", and more men's voices (one of whom addresses the "party people in the house") appear during the song's bridge, in which the backing singers shout for the listener to nonchalantly wave their arms around in the air.

Morissette had independently released a single, "Fate Stay with Me", in 1987, but "Too Hot" became her mainstream breakthrough in Canada; it reached number fourteen on the country's singles chart, peaked within the top ten on contemporary hit radio and contributed to the success of the album Alanis, which was certified gold during the same period.[1] It is her most popular dance pop release, and was her biggest hit in Canada until the singles from her international debut album Jagged Little Pill (1995). It was not released elsewhere.